Religion or Relationship?

Religion or Relationship?

         They say that there are two topics that shouldn’t be discussed with strangers: politics and religion. Both of these generally consist of very strongly held personal positions. A forceful presentation of these views can often alienate or erect barriers that are difficult to overcome.

         I took a course in religious philosophy when I was in college. I was intrigued to be informed that all philosophy presents a religious position. An individual’s philosophical position is either based on the premise that there is a God or there is not. I was also intrigued to discover the arguments that are presented regarding the lack of God, as well as in support of God, were not in any way new arguments. Smarter men than me have long ago presented the arguments that I thought were original with me.

         I determined that I cannot, will not, be able to win my argument regarding religion. As long as I deal with the reasoning of religion, I am destined to never have the answer. My understanding of religion is satisfied only when I reduce it to a matter of faith. There is a point in time when I must concede that I am unable to reason my way through this issue. In a sense it becomes unreasonable. My scientific mind cannot arrive at a successful conclusion to the experiment. That is a root of the problem. Scientific minds cannot understand God by scientific proof alone. I cannot mix the yellow liquid with the blue liquid and every time come up with a green liquid, as science would have me do.

         No, the proof of God isn’t scientific. As Josh McDowell has said, the proof of God is legal. We believe in God because of the witnesses that support the argument. There are more ancient documents that corroborate the writings that comprise our Bible than any other book. There is more proof that Paul wrote his epistles to the churches than there is that Homer wrote the Odyssey. There is more proof of the accuracy of the text of the Gospels than the text of the Magna Carta. Yet, no one doubts the authorship of the Odyssey nor the text of the Magna Carta.

         Why is that? Can it be because the Bible is more than a literary document or a legal instrument? Can it be that the Bible, through it's witness, provides an opportunity to enter into a relationship with a living God? People aren’t willing to accept that premise. They’re not willing because it requires that they enter into a relationship, rather than remain outside the limits of the relationship examining it only with cold academic documentation. One is an academic investigation; the other is an exercise in faith. One represents an academic study of religion; the other represents a relationship with the living God.